Clay Aiken – Let’s Make An Impact

This is a blog about Clay Aiken…..Is it important? Well, to me it is important, but does it matter?

Do Bloggers Matter? The answer is YES. Music bloggers can have a striking impact on album sales, an expert on technology and the economy has found.

It turns out that the volume of blog posts before a music album’s release can significantly affect future album sales, according to a research paper entitled, “Does Chatter Matter,” co-authored by New York University – Stern Business School Professor Vasant Dhar and a former student, Elaine Chang. It is said that Professor Dhar is “an expert in the strategic implications of information technology.”

The study showed that there is an increasing share of information on the Internet that is being generated by individuals, not organizations or “experts.” The team wanted to understand how music sales are affected by user-generated content. They explored the effects of blogs and social net-working sites for predicting online music sales.

It has been estimated that 30 percent of the US population considers blogs an important source of information. They are popular because people make connections to others with shared interests. In the study, the professor compared blogs to more traditional information sources such as professional reviews in print or electronic media.

So……….what did the study reveal?

The most significant variable is blog chatter or the volume of blog posts on an album. The results of this study suggest that user-generated content should be considered seriously by record labels.

When blog posts exceeded a threshold of 40 before an album’s release, sales were three times the average.

If the albums blogged about were associated with a major record label, sales increased five-fold.

When blog posts hit 240, sales went up six times on average.

The number of the artist’s MySpace or FaceBook friends also contributes to higher future sales, but had a weaker correlation than blog chatter.

The study measured CD sales on Amazon.com over eight weeks and defined major record labels as Universal Music Group, Sony BMG Music Entertainment, EMI Group and Warner Music Group, which make up approximately 82 per cent of the music market.

They chose consumer reviews posted on Amazon.com and websites “that are, at least anecdotally, considered influential on the music scene:” Pitchfork Media, PopMatters and Stylus Magazine, and online reviews by Rolling Stone, Entertainment Weekly and Allmusic.

Measures of “blog chatter” were captured on the website Technorati. The weekly change in MySpace and FaceBook friends was also factored in, though it was found to be a less reliable measure.

In an interview with the Musical Star, Dhar described music blogging as “electronic word-of-mouth.”

“We were surprised at the importance of it. We expected that the views of the traditional media would count more. But in some cases, blogs were more important than media ratings. Basically, what that suggested is that when it comes to music, people tend to trust people with views similar to them more than (they do) the experts. People who are looking at the world in the same way as you (do) are becoming increasingly important.”

Most blog posts tend to be positive, the researchers found. “Rarely will a blogger feel the need to spend time and effort to write a scathing review.” So a handful of negative reviews or even silence about a release can have a strong impact.

Even though MySpace has less of an impact, the study suggests that the first thing any good PR person should tell an artist is to create a free MySpace music page. Love it or hate it, MySpace is where musicians need to be. The site allows artists to embed music players and showcase their best work so that potentially millions of people can get a taste of the music.

For artists, exposure is more important than money, as crazy as that may sound. Get people’s attention first, build a fan base, and then start selling music.

What does this have to do with Clay Aiken? Well, I believe that it is important to support Clay in as many ways as we can. It is not our job to get in the way of his team of experts, but we can support him by becoming his friend on his MySpacePage and responding to the positive blogs that promote his music and professional career. Clay has about 38,500 friends at his myspace page. Can we make it 40,000 by next week?

Clay Aiken news is slow at the moment, but soon, we will have much to talk about. Let’s get ready to create a positive buzz about Clay and his music. This is something we all can do.

P.S. The study is over 30 pages long so this is only a quick review of the “bottom line” of the study. If you want more information, the study can be found HERE

Clay Aiken News Network is an unofficial fansite. We are not affiliated in any way with Clay Aiken or his management. This website was made by fans for fans and makes no impression or impersonation of the official site, which can be found under the domain clayaiken.com.

Comments

This is all so interesting….Thanks Musicfan for all your time and effort into writing this.

Sounds like a great idea..and we should all be supportive and pro-active in promoting Clay. As you say…let his team do what it is needed to do…and I have confidence in Decca..something that was truly missing with RCA. I can't wait for the new CD, as I know it will be great, cause I love Clay's voice and love his choice of music….I'm cool with that….

As a blogger who features information about Clay Aiken, his music career and charitable activities, I found your report of this study very interesting. Like you, I spend a lot of time writing/arranging a new blog entry and greatly appreciate those who take a moment to comment on the content, efforts, etc.

I also appreciate the news that CANN brings to us daily. I love keeping up with anything Clay Aiken, and in the process being informed about how things work in the entertainment business. Thank you guys for all the work you put in to give us this amazing blog.

Thank you very much for this important information. I hope many fans of Clay Aiken read this information and are conscious of the importance of the Blog and support with your comments and participation.
Rossy

I am a supporter of Clay Aiken and I visit many message boards during the day, and I try to make comments on blogs related to Clay because the links to these blogs are posted on the message boards, but, and this is a big but….how do people who are not fans and mayhave never been a fan find the links to the blogs or even look for blogs?

I can always count on CANN to bring interesting and important information to fans of Clay Aiken. You have some interesting information not only about Clay but how some parts of the Internet works, and how parts of the music industry works. I believe if the Clay's fans, Team Clay and Decca work together we can really be a force to get Clay's new music out to those who have not heard him in while. Thank you CANN for your hard work.

One of the most important things about supporting the Clay Aiken blogs, is that they help to bring the talent and enjoyment of this man to those who have not experienced it. They show the true person that Clay is, in actual video and actual articles about the work he does. Hopefully, the more support we give, the fictionalized lies that sick minds concoct will be seen for what they are. Just that….lies from stalkers seeking their 15 minutes of tainted "fame".

Supporting Clay in cyber world does make an impact, whether through youtube videos, comments, blogs, polls, myspace, twitter 😀 etc. I was looking for information on Clay early this year and found some not so pleasant information or comments that made me think he could be another celebrity gone wrong. Luckily I found CANN, message boards, individual blogs and comments consistently showing support and love for Clay even after sooo many years. That speaks volumes.

Very good information here. The internet is an increasingly important method of communicating in this era. More and more people are learning the value of search engines. Something that is common is it's the first listings on a page that gain the most notice. Often the best pages are found by looking farther down the page and on the following pages.
As a blogger for Clay Aiken, I'm not a writer, but I try to provide entertainment, as well as support positive blogs.

Thank you for this very informative blog. I hope more people will begin to show their support of Clay Aiken on the different blogs by leaving a short comment. I used to just shake my head in agreement and then move on till it was explained just how helpful it is to get comments on a blog. Since then, I try to always make a comment when I can, even if it's very short.

Thanks for all the great information that CANN does each and every day. I love to come here and read your articles..and make a comment. I will make sure I read more blogs…and comment on them as that will give something positive for Clay. I believe he will get great promotion from Decca also.

Thanks so much musicfan. Clay Aiken has so many fans and I hope that many will get on board and blog and comment on others' blogs. So looking forward to his next CD and hoping he will get good promotion from Decca.

Great information musicfan! Thank you so much for gathering up everything you do to keep us informed and helping Clay to boot! I can't wait for things to rev up in the next few months. Go Decca, Go CANN!!

What a weatlh of information you guys are, great job! As a Clay Aiken fan from his Atlanta audtion on AI, I'm glad to see what positive things we can do to help support his career. His is one of the best voices around and I hope his new label gives him all the support he deserves – I know I'll be doing my part.

Thanks for all the important and timely article you write. Fantastic blog in support of a fantastic guy!

This is very interesting! I wonder if these results still apply if the blogs are focused on the artist and created by fans of the artist basically "street teaming" an album? Does anyone but other fans read blogs by fans focusing on one artist or band? In other words, is it better for a blog on books or cooking or whatever to have a positive mention of a Clay album than it is for a Clay-centric blog rave about his album? I have no idea!

Clay Aiken News Network is an unofficial fansite. We are not affiliated in any way with Clay Aiken or his management. This website was made by fans for fans and makes no impression or impersonation of the official site, which can be found under the domain clayaiken.com.

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I have always believed in a life of service. But Tina, Dr. Mac, and the kids I worked with at Brentwood crystallized that desire. They helped me to see how vital it is for me to use my time on earth to make a difference in some way. -Clay Aiken

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